No sun till setting. Another still, moist, overcast day, without sun, but all day a crescent of light, as if breaking away in the north. The waters smooth and full of reflections. A still cloudy day like this is perhaps the best to be on the water. To the clouds, perhaps, we owe both the stillness and the reflections, for the light is in great measure reflected from the water. Robins sing now at 10 A.M. as in the morning, and the phoebe; and pigeon woodpecker’s cackle is heard, and many martins (with white-bellied swallows) are skimming and twittering above the water, perhaps catching the small fuzzy gnats with which the air is filled. The sounds of church bells, at various distances, in Concord and the neighboring towns, sounds very sweet to us on the water this still day. It is the song of the villages heard with the song of the birds.

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Wishing you a blissful autumn weekend! Take time to enjoy the beauty and bounty of the season!

“By the sixth of October the leaves generally begin to fall, in successive showers, after frost or rain; but the principal leaf-harvest, the acme of the Fall, is commonly about the sixteenth. Some morning at that date there is perhaps a harder frost than we have seen, and ice formed under the pump, and now, when the morning wind rises, the leaves come down in denser showers than ever. They suddenly form thick beds or carpets on the ground, in this gentle air, or even without wind, just the size and form of the tree above. Some trees, as small Hickories, appear to have dropped their leaves instantaneously, as a soldier grounds arms at a signal; and those of the Hickory, being bright yellow still, though withered, reflect a blaze of light from the ground where they lie. Down they have come on all sides, at the first earnest touch of autumn’s wand, making a sound like rain.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, 1862

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“I walk without flinching through the burning cathedral of the summer. My bank of wild grass is majestic and full of music. It is a fire that solitude presses against my lips.” ~ Violette Leduc, Mad in Pursuit

Today’s post explores the depth and beauty of moss green…rich with complex layers of yellow, brown and gray, it is a versatile neutral that compliments almost any other hue…may you be inspired by one of my favorite colors…

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With Thanksgiving at our doorstep, my thoughts are of beautiful table-scapes…a gorgeous spread begins with luscious linens and who better than Libeco Home to get us started…located in Meulebeke Belgium, they specialize in manufacturing and distributing high end household linen and exclusive fabrics for retail and the contract market…I have purchased many Libeco linens over the past few years and for me, nothing compares to the quality of this product…from the glorious texture to the timeless color palette, these linens are a welcome addition to any decor…certain hues remind me of the Gauguin post I published awhile back…may these delicious plum and pumpkin tones inspire your holiday table!

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“In art, truth is what a person feels in the state of mind he happens to be in” ~ Gauguin

“Painting is the most beautiful of all the arts…in a single glance our souls can be flooded with the most profound reflections…to judge a book, you must be intelligent and well educated, to judge painting and music, you need, in addition to possessing intelligence and artistic knowledge, special feelings which are not in everyone’s nature…in a word, you must be born an artist, and though many are called, few are chosen” ~ Gauguin

“I’m living in silent contemplation of nature…devoting myself entirely to my art…without that, there is no salvation and it is the best means of keeping physical pain at bay…in that way, I acquire the strength to live without too much bitterness for my fellows…I like Brittany…I find a certain wildness and primitiveness here…when my clogs resound on this granite soil, I here the dull, matte powerful tone I’m looking for in my painting…” ~ Gauguin, from a letter to Emile Schuffenecker

“I know I will be understood less and less but one should always be faithful to one’s nature…be an impressionist to the bitter end and be afraid of nothing…mark this well, a wind is blowing among artists which is all in my favor…for most people, I shall be an enigma…for a few, I shall be a poet…and sooner or later, merit will have its way” ~ Gauguin, from a letter to Emile Schuffenecker